Individual use tobacco container for pipes



March 31, 1953 5, Hmsc o 2,633,269

INDIVIDUAL USE TOBACCO CONTAINER FOR PIPES Filed July 10, 1948 5010440 L H/QSCHHOE/V,

IN V EN T OR.

Patented Mar. 31, 1953 OFFICE INDIVIDUAL USE TOBACCO CONTAINER FOR PIPES Solomon L. Hirschhorn, Los Angeles, Calif. Application July 10, 1948, Serial No. 38,067

2 Claims.

My invention relates generally to tobacco con}- tainers for smokers, and more particularly to individual containers adapted to hold the correct amount of tobacco for one filling of a smokers pipe, the container thereafter being discarded.

It has long been recognized that the conditions under which tobacco is kept contribute very largely to its taste, aroma, and smoking qualities, and many efforts have been made to provide a container which would maintain tobacco in its optimum condition from the time it leaves the factory until the time it is used. This problem has been solved in the case of cigars by packaging them individually, and in the case of cigarettes by packaging them in containers holding a relatively few cigarettes. However, in the case of pipe tobacco, the solutions proposed have not been so satisfactory. If the container is relatively large, the tobacco will lose a large amount of its moisture before the contents of the container are entirely used. This has led to the use of humidors into which a quantity of tobacco is placed, and the humidity therein is carefully regulated by any one of a number of suitable means. If a smaller container is used, its contents wil1 be more quickly consumed, but the same basic problem exists, and the containerzis often clumsy and inconvenient to use. Because of the size and shape of the present-day small containers, it is erly without spilling a considerable amount of tobacco. Thus, in addition to the deteriorationof the quality of tobacco, there is also a considerable amount of waste with such containers.

It is therefore a major object of my invention to provide an improved container for tobacco and similar products particularly intended for pipe smokers.

Another object of my invention is to provide such a container which will maintain the tobacco in its desirable fresh condition until the time of use.

It is a further object of my invention to provide such a container that is designed to fill the average pipe bowl completely without any tobacco being left over, so that each container is used but once.

Still another object of my invention is to provide a container of this type that is quickly and easily used in a very simple manner.

It is still a further object of my invention to provide such a container that may be manufactured and processed by automatic packaging machinery so that the resulting cost is maintained at a minimum.

difficult to fill a pipe bowl prop- These and other objects and advantages of my invention will become apparent from the following description of a preferred and modified form thereof, and from the drawings illustrating those forms in which Fig. 1 is a perspective view of my improved tobacco container as it appears when used in the filling of a pipe;

Fig. 2 is a plan View of a package holding a plurality of individual containers, and showing one method in which the latter may be packed;

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2 to show the method of packing the containers, two of the latter being shown in cross-section to illustrate their construction; and

Fig. 4 is a perspective view on an enlarged scale of an optiona form of my container which has certain advantages in packaging.

Referring now to the drawings and particularly to Figs. 1 to 3 thereof, the numeral I 0 indicates generally an individual container having a base H and converging side walls I 2 which meet to form a tip or apex [3. While the form shown in Figs. 1 to 3 has a generally conical shape, this feature is not essential and the container may be given any generally pyramidal shape. While the material forming the container l0 may be any one of a number of suitable types, I have found that a material which is impervious to both air and moisture forms the best container for to- Included in this 'type of material are some of the thin sheets of transparent plastic material, as well as the sheets of cellulose commonly known as cellophane. Where it is imporlight-weight metal material have the desired mechanical strength, be flexible, and be impervious to air and moisture.

In the production of the containers I 0, the walls will rupture before the remainder of the cone will break. As hereinafter described, this is a very important and desirable feature of my invention.

As an optional method of construction, the base I i may be formed of the sheet material, with the sides 12 formed of the same sheet bent upwardly and twisted or otherwise held together to form the generally pyramidal shape previously described. In general, however, this method of constructing the container ill is less desirable because of the less efilcient use of the material, and because of the lack of a zone of weakness near the apex 13 unless additional meansor features of construction are used.

Assuming that the container It has been formed by either of the methods described and is filled with tobacco it, it will be appreciated that the latter will be maintained in its manufactured condition without any deterioration because of the complete sealing of the tobacco from the air. While various methods of packaging such containers may be used, .I have found it very convenient to .nest the containers it! within a package or box 15 that is slightly larger than the conventional package of cigarettes. This method is shown in Fig. 2, where it will be seen that I .have packed twenty-five of the containers It! in the nested arrangement previously mentioned, to make a very compact package which may easily be carriedin the pocket. Furthermore, it has been found that the average package of tobacco as heretofore supplied will hold approximately twenty to twenty-five pipefuls of tobacco. Since each of the containers H3 is designed to hold approximately one pipeful of tobacco, the package I5 contains approximately the same amount of tobacco as the previously used boxes. The customer is thus assured of getting the same amount of tobacco, but in a much more convenient form.

As indicated in Fig. l, to use my improved tobacco container, it is only necessary to remove one of the pyramidal containers l6 from the package i5 and hold the container with its apex 1.3 within or just above the bowl of a pipe IS, with the base I! of the container upward. The sides [2 are grasped between the first and secondfingers, and the thumb is pressed downwardly upon the base H. As the pressure exerted by the thumb is increased, the tobacco i4 is forced'downwardly toward the apex 13, this pressure gradually increasing until the strength of the zone of weakness previously mentioned is exceeded, whereupon the container I0 is ruptured and the tobacco is discharged into the bowl of the pipe.

.It will be realized that one of the reasons for the success of this container is the fact that the tobacco therein acts as a flowable material and not as a rigidsolid. Consequently, the pressure exerted upon the base H is transmitted downwardly through the individual grains or particles of tobacco to the portions thereof bearing against the zone of weakness of the container. If a rigid solid were enclosed within the container ill, the pressure exerted by the first and second fingers would normally prevent the solid from being forced downwardly with respect to the container, and there would thus be no rupturing of the latter.

Generally, tainer I0 is of no great concern to the smoker, though it may be of considerable importance to him that the package l5 be as small as possible and still hold the desired number of containers. With this in mind, it is often advisable to use a the particular shape of the conpyramidal shape having a generally polygonal base such as the hexagonal pyramid shown in Fig. 4. In this case, the container Illa has a hexagonal base (not shown) with side walls I20, which converge to an apex l3a. The essential details of construction of such a container may be substantially the same as those of the previously described container, and the method of use .is the same. However, because of the particular method of shaping the base, the individual containers Illa will fit together for a more efficient use of the space available in the package I5. With such a container, it will be found that the box or package I5 may be made considerably smaller than that illustrated in Fig. 2 while still holding approximately the same number of the individual containers Illa.

It will be appreciated that various shaped polygons may be used in place of the regular hexagon shown in Fig.4, though the hexagonal shape has the advantage of being somewhat more efficient in its use of space. However, the containersmay be made with square .or octagonal bases with good results, the particular design being a matter of choice and personal preference. The zone of weakness formed in the container near the apex 13 may be provided by the smaller sealed area as mentioned, or may be provided by a tear strip incorporated in the walls of the container if so desired. Such a strip is comparable to the tear stripprovided in the outer, moistureproof wrapping of the conventional cigarette package, and .is so well-known as to need no further elaborationhere. Theparticular method of providing the zone of weakness, however, will be dependent to a certain extent upon the material of which the container is formed, and this likewise isa'matter of .personal taste andpreference. Among the suitable .materials may be listed the cellulose films commonly known as cellophane, other thin sheet plastics, metal foil, etc. Suitably treated paper may likewise be used, so long as the resulting container is impervious to air and moisture and does not deleteriously affect the tobacco.

These and other changes and modifications may be made as desired without departing from the broad features of my invention as herein described. Consequently, I do not wish to be restricted to the particular form or arrangement of parts herein described and shown except as limited by my claims.

I claim:

1. An individual use pipe tobacco container comprising: a unitary sheet of collapsible and moisture-impervious material formed into a closed generally conical casing having a wall and an integral base joined tightly together, of a size to 'hold a single bowlful of tobacco and to be readily grasped withinfthe hand, the apex portion of said container wall being acutely tapered and formed to extenda substantial distance within a pipe bowl upon inversion of said container, said apex portion having a line of weakness therein of less rupture strength than the material of said container so that said container may be crushed in the hand to eject said tobacco into said pipe, said line of weakness extending from said apex along a generating element of said wall to create an opening in said container extending only along said line of weakness without separating any portion of the material forming said container from the main body of said container to become imbedded in said tobacco.

2. An individual use pipe tobacco container comprising: a unitary sheet of collapsible and moisture-impervious material formed into a closed generally conical casing by sealing overlapping radial edges of a circular sector of said material in an easily separable seam to form a line of weakness extending from the apex along a generating element of said container, the base of said container being closed by a covering tab formed integrally with said sector and sealed tightly therearound, said container being of a size to hold a single bowful of tobacco and to be readily grasped within the hand, the apex portion of said container being acutely tapered for extension into a pipe bowl upon inversion of said container, said line of weakness being of less rupture strength than the material of said container so that said container may be crushed in the hand to eject tobacco into said pipe, and the disposition of said line of weakness being such as to create an opening in said container extending only along said line of weakness without separating any portion of the material forming said container from the main body of said container to become imbedded in said tobacco.

SOLOMON L. HIRSCHHORN.

' REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS France Feb. 5, 1934 

